


Pick Up The Phone (When It Ring, Ring, Rings)

by Princess_Aleera



Series: The Mute!Cas Verse [5]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fix it (of sorts), Hurt/Comfort, M/M, awkward phone calls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-20
Updated: 2013-08-20
Packaged: 2017-12-24 04:16:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/935228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princess_Aleera/pseuds/Princess_Aleera
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Where Dean calls Lisa.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pick Up The Phone (When It Ring, Ring, Rings)

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place during their first year in Grass Valley. Not really any warnings, either. I'm trying to post all the one-shots and still-missing parts of this !verse so I can wrap it up in my head. :)

It’s been two years. Over two years. There’s no reason he should still remember the number, but he does. By heart. He plots it onto his cell, slowly, as if by stalling he’ll let himself chicken out. But he doesn’t. And eventually, all that’s left is the green button.

One ring. Two. “Hello Timmy’s Auto Repair this is Larry speaking?” The sentence comes so fast it’d be difficult for Dean to hear, if it wasn’t so painfully familiar.

“Larry, hey. It’s uh, Dean.”

A silence. Not long, but long enough. “Winchester? That you?”

“Yeah, it’s me.” Dean rubs his neck and watches Cas walk out of their bathroom. He’s still damp from his shower, drops of water dripping from his hair and staining the t-shirt he’s pulled on in there. The t-shirt’s the only thing he’s wearing – that and a towel around his waist. He gives Dean a quick smile before heading over to the small closet on the opposite side of the bedroom, the towel dropping to the floor. Dean looks away. Not because it’s awkward to watch Cas’s junk – not anymore, at least – but because he can’t get distracted.

“Been years since I heard from you last,” Larry says and his voice is sharp, but not hostile. “Thought you might be dead.”

“Didn’t Lisa tell you?” Dean rubs his forehead and notices how Cas turns around, a small frown on his face.

“She told me something, alright,” Larry grumbles. He’s younger than Dean by two years, but he somehow still manages to sound like Bobby on the phone. “Something about you taking off to get your brother, and that you wasn’t coming back. But nothing from you.”

“I’m sorry about that, Larry. It was… there wasn’t time to explain. I just had to go.” Cas, now wearing a pair of boxers in addition to the plain, blue t-shirt, sits gingerly down on the edge of their bed, a feet away from Dean to give him the choice of space. Dean tangles his fingers with Cas’s to tell him he’s welcome to stick around – it’s not a private conversation. Dean doesn’t mind the guy listening in. Cas gives him a soft smile.

Larry huffs into the phone. “So, did you?”

“Sorry, what?”

“Find that brother of yours.”

“Oh. Yeah, I found him.” Dean glances at Cas. “That and an old friend.”

Larry grunts. “You thinking about coming back here?”

“Um, no. No, actually, I’m getting a job elsewhere. Me and Lisa, we… things are best left like they were,” Dean manages. Cas looks like he’s pretending not to listen intently, and it’s not working.

“Then what’chu calling me for?” Larry says, his voice more of a bite than a bark at this point.

Dean winces. “Look, Larry, I get that you and the boys are mad at me for ditchin’ you without an explanation. It was a shitty situation all around, and now… Well, let’s just say I can’t go back.” He stares at the purple bed sheets, and Cas crawls closer so he can settle against Dean’s side. It’s just as much of a comfort as it’s meant to be. “But the thing is that while I stuck around, I did a good job, and you and Timmy know that.”

“Lemme guess,” Larry sighs. “You need a job somewhere else.”

“Rosie’s Repair, Grass Valley,” Dean mumbles. “I know you don’t owe me a goddamn thing, Larry, but I’d really appreciate it if you could make a phone call.”

Larry gives another long-suffering sigh, and Cas leans his head on Dean’s shoulder. Dean turns so he can bury his nose in Cas’s hair, just for a moment. “Guess I could do that,” Larry says after a moment. “Ain’t nothing wrong with the job you did, while you was still around.”

Dean hears the small stab. “Thanks a lot, Larry. Tell the other boys from me, if they’re interested.”

“I’d bet they are, yeah,” Larry says. “But Dean, now I get to come with a favor of mine own.”

Dean tenses; knows Cas notices from the way he shifts barely. “What’s that, Larry?”

“Give Lees a call. She acts like all's fine and dandy, but I know she’s wondering if you’re alive. Ben too. Just let’em know you’re alright, ‘kay?”

Dean closes his eyes and sighs. “I dunno if I can do that, Lar.”

“It’s Larry to you, Winchester,” Larry says sharply, before his voice softens, “and it wasn’t no question. Nice hearing your voice, Dean.” He hangs up before Dean can reply.

He lets the cell drop to the bed and flops onto his back, rubbing his face. Cas pulls a little at his t-shirt and when Dean opens his eyes, his angel signs _what’s wrong?_

“Nothing, really. It’s okay, Cas.”

Cas pulls something like a bitchface at him, which surprises Dean almost enough to start smiling. _Tell me. Please._

“Larry wants me to call Lisa and Ben. Just to let them know that I’m okay.”

Castiel looks at him for a while, as if waiting for something else to come. When Dean doesn’t say more, he signs _and?_

“And – and I’m not exactly sure if that’s a good idea. I up and left her, Cas. I know it’s the right thing to do, but…” he sighs. “I dunno. I don’t… know if Lisa even wants to talk to me. I don’t wanna rip up in something that ain’t there, you know? When I could… just leave them alone instead.” He stares at the immaculate ceiling, still not used to a bedroom that isn't frequented (or owned) by anyone other than he and Cas. Everything's so clean and _new_ here.

Cas lies down at his side, elbow propped under him, and trails a hand across Dean’s cheek before signing. _Does she miss you?_

“Hell if I know, Cas,” Dean mutters. “I haven’t talked to her in two years – how the hell am I supposed to know?”

 _Do you miss her?_ Castiel signs, his face open as always. It doesn’t look like a trick question. Cas doesn't do many of those.

“I dunno? Maybe – I mean, not really. But I guess I wonder how she’s doing. She and Ben.”

 _Then that is your answer,_ Cas signs decisively and lays his head down on Dean’s chest.

“So you actually _want_ me to call her?” Dean asks, incredulous. Cas doesn’t answer, just plays with a loose string on Dean’s t-shirt. Even in the silence, Dean knows what he means: _that’s entirely up to you._

He sighs; lies with his eyes closed for another while, feeling Cas against him like a buffer between him and his old world. His fingers find the right buttons on the phone almost without his say-so. He knows Lisa’s number too, even if he deleted her number eight months ago. Knows it like the back of his hand. Or the back of Cas's hand.

One ring. Two. Three. Four. A click. “ _Hey, this is Lisa_ ,” comes Dean's ex's voice, with an added “ _and Ben_!” from Ben before Lisa's message keeps going. “- _And we're not home right now, so if you want us to call you back, leave us a message after the beep!_ ”

Beep.

Dean's head is empty, and it takes him a couple of seconds to realize that the damn thing's recording him breathing quietly into the phone and not saying a goddamn word. He presses 'hang up' and drops his phone, as if burned.

Cas looks worried.

“Nobody home,” Dean says, swallowing thickly, and refuses to acknowledge how hard his heart beats after hearing Lisa's voice. Shit, he actually _misses_ her – not in a want-to-up-and-leave-Grass-Valley kind of way, but he's missed her voice, alright. She was, for almost a year, his best friend, and Ben's probably the closest to a son Dean will ever have.

He _misses_ them.

Cas leans over enough to drop a soft kiss on his brow, and Dean turns to his side so he can burrow his face against his angel's t-shirt and forget about the world for a while. Cas's hand strokes his back, like he's calming Dean down from some kind of panic attack, and that – that's not what this is, okay? It's just – Dean's just caught by surprise, is all.

His phone rings. It's a quarter past three on a Monday; right about when Sasquatch is done with his lectures, Dean remembers, and fumbles for the phone without moving away from Cas's reassuring embrace. “Hey,” he says into the cell, expecting Sam's voice, either cheerful or tired – depending on the classes.

“... Dean?”

Dean goes rigid, moving enough that he pushes himself back away from Cas, who startles. “Um, Lisa?” Even though that's a stupid-ass question; of course it's Lisa. Her voice is exactly like he remembers; exactly like the voice mail, except there's no gentle humor in her voice now. “Uh, yeah,” Dean finally manages, when he realizes she actually asked him a question. “Yeah, it's me.”

Quiet. “Why are you calling?” Lisa sounds guarded; there are too many layers in her tone for him to decipher.

“I, uh... I called Larry just now. I need his recommendation for a possible job. He told me to give you a call.” Dean presses his face against Cas's front again, though it feels like he's hiding now. Cas's fingers have returned; they write nonsense words on Dean's back.

“I –” Lisa cuts herself off. “Why?”

“He said you might like to hear that I wasn't... y'know.” Dean sighs. “Dead. Look, Lisa – I'm real sorry if I'm butting back into your life. That's not what I want with this call. I left pretty much without a g'bye and an explanation, and I've been quiet since – if you want me to hang up, I'll do that right now, I swear.”

“No!” she says quickly, before sighing. He can _hear_ her biting her lip in frustration. “I mean – no, it's fine. Now you've called, we might as well... talk.”

They're both quiet for way too many seconds for it not to be awkward. It's Dean who finally breaks the silence. “So... how's Ben?”

“Ben?” She seems surprised over the question, and Dean kicks himself mentally for being a shit father figure. (Like he didn't always know he was gonna be exactly that, hah.) “Yeah, he's good. He's starting high school this fall.”

“Really?” Dean says, and uncurls a little from where he lies – enough that he can see Cas's face. His angel's watching the one-sided conversation with calm interest. “High school? Wow, kid's growing up.” Cas smiles.

Again one moment of surprised silence from Lisa before she responds. “Yeah, he – he's got friends there already. People from around here. They're all in the marching band together.”

Dean's mind stutters over that piece of information. “Ma – huh? Ben's in the marching band?”

“Yup,” Lisa says, and for the first time, there's something other than wariness or careful neutrality in her voice. She sounds amused, like she knew just how unlike Ben that is. “He plays trombone. He's really good at it, too.” She listens to his stunned silence for a moment, before adding “Oh, and don't worry. 'Back In Black' is still his favorite album.”

“Well, thank God,” Dean breathes and lets his head lie back on the fresh covers. “I was beginning to worry for a minute.”

Lisa chuckles, and _damn_ , it's good to hear that one more time. His hand finds Cas's of its own volition, tangling their fingers like Dean needs to ground himself. Cas presses his forehead against Dean's temple and stays still, quietly attentive.

“To be completely honest, I don't know why he started in the marching band,” Lisa continues. “He's never shown any interest in the trombone until a year ago. But he's good, and he seems to really like it.”

“Why couldn't he've at least picked guitar?” Dean sighs wistfully. “You never score chicks with a _trombone_ ; everyone knows that.”

“Oh yeah, that too,” Lisa muses. “He's got a boyfriend now.”

Dean thinks his mind might have just turned inside out for a moment. “Say _what_?”

“A boyfriend,” Lisa says, and her voice has an edge of danger in it now. A 'be careful what you say because you're on thin ice Dean Winchester' edge that Dean remembers from when he lived with her. “They've been together for... almost a year now?”

“Ben's _gay_?” Dean sputters, and feels Cas's eyelashes flutter in surprise against the side of his face.

“Yep,” Lisa says, her voice even more edged. “He told me a few months after you left – after he started talking again.” There's a lot of history in that sentence alone, and she wants him to hear it.

Dean beats himself up a little more mentally for following his brother's idiot advice way back then – even if Lisa and Ben were probably the only people keeping him alive for that year. He's ripped up so many wounds for the two of them, and he hates it.

“I'm sorry,” he says gruffly, before he realizes how Lisa might take that. “I – I mean, about – about leaving like that, not.... I think it's – it's great that Ben's got someone. A boyfriend. I just – I didn't see it coming, is all, but... I guess it makes sense in a way.” Dean looks over at his own maybe-possibly-boyfriend, and is once again struck with the knowledge of how ridiculously alike he and Ben are.

“It does?” Lisa asks, the edge in her voice gone and replaced with curiosity.

“Yeah, kinda. Um, and what about you? How're you doing?” Dean says, steering the conversation into slightly less awkward waters. 

“I'm – I'm fine,” Lisa says, still sounding unsure about Dean's aversion. “I'm, you know. Everything's as it's always been. I'm still in my old job, still... there's just me and Ben here.”

 _Still alone._ A claw of guilt rips at Dean's insides. “Have I mentioned I'm sorry, Lees?” he sighs into the phone.

“Yeah, you have,” she says, half exasperation, half amusement. “After two years of radio silence. What happened, Dean?”

“Well,” Dean says and wonders where the hell to begin. “You know I told you about my brother.”

“The one that had come back from – from that place you wouldn't tell me about?” Lisa says. “Yeah, you were going to find him. Did you?”

“Yeah, I did. And – and a lot of other stuff happened as well. Me and Sam, and Bobby and Cas, we prevented another Apocalypse – though this one was jump-started by another angel; Raphael.”

“ _More_ angels?” Lisa asks. “How many are there of them?”

“A lot. But nobody left that are as powerful as Raphael was,” Dean reassures her. “Anyway, we, uh – we took care of it. With some heavy losses of our own.” He can feel how Cas's form is tensing up, and he turns to press his forehead against his angel's for a moment. Cas's hand squeezes his in thanks, and Cas's eyes are closed and tight with past pain.

Lisa is quiet, worry radiating from the phone. “Loss – your brother–”

“Sam's fine,” Dean says quickly. “Or, well – he's fine now. It's been a... long fucking year, Lees. And I'm fine – and Bobby's fine. We lost a close friend, and Cas... I'm not gonna get into the details, Lees, 'cause that's not up to me, but he's about as immortal as I am now.”

Cas's breath hitches, and Dean moves closer. But the angel opens his eyes and offers Dean a watery smile. _It's okay_ , he mouths and sniffles. Dean untangles their hands and starts stroking his angel's hair instead; knows how much Cas loves that. His angel sighs and lies back down, melting under Dean's touch and attention.

“He's – what –” Lisa cuts herself off again. “Right. That's not my business. Is he alright?”

“He's just perfect, Lees,” Dean says softly. “It's all good.” Cas's features smooth out, his smile turning shy. Dean grins a little to himself; it's okay. Cas has closed his eyes again and can't see him smiling like a goof.

“Dean?” Lisa asks. “Is, uh... Is there something else you want to tell me, here?”

Dean coughs into the phone. “Um, uh. Well, I'm kinda – settling down, for lack of a better word. It's kinda a necessity at this point, but we're all good. Sam's back in school, and I'm – well, provided Larry doesn't bitch about me to Rosie's Repair, I've got a job or two, and... and I've got Cas,” he finally manages.

“You've got Cas,” Lisa repeats, and sounds incredulous. “ _Got_ him, got him?”

“Um,” Dean says.

“You do know that if you're about to tell me you're gay, Dean Winchester, I'm not going to believe you?” Lisa says, but she sounds more amused than anything else, which gives Dean a small spark of courage.

“Nah, you know me, Lees. I like girls a-plenty,” he drawls, and Cas snorts against him, the bitch. “I just... like Cas too. So to speak.”

She actually laughs a little. “I'd never have thought. You settling down with an _angel_.”

“Yeah, me neither, Lees,” Dean chuckles. Cas sighs a little against him, completely at ease with Dean talking to his ex on the phone, and Lisa, who by all means should _hate_ him, is laughing that gorgeous laugh of her, the one Dean would work so hard to coax out of her when they lived together. It's a bizarre situation, but even as he lies there, curled up with Cas and talking to Lisa about everything and nothing, Dean can't help thinking that he wants to mail Larry the biggest fucking gift basket on this side of the US.

~*~


End file.
